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Longtime Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith announced on Wednesday that he will be retiring at the end of June in 2024, and former assistant to Smith, current Washington State athletic director Pat Chun is reportedly the frontrunner to succeed Smith at Ohio State, according to Dan Hope of Eleven Warriors.
Pat Chun previously worked with the Ohio State athletic department from 1997 through 2012, and would bring nearly a decade of experience being an athletic director. Chun's first job as an athletic director was at Florida Atlantic, where he spent six years before becoming the athletic director at Washington State. He would be a logical successor to Gene Smith. The timing would also make sense for Chun, as Washington State has essentially been left in the dust in college realignment. They are one of the four remaining teams in the Pac-12, and are looking for a new home.
Some other names that are worth mentioning as candidates are Heather Lyke and Diana Sabau. Heather Lyke worked in Ohio State's athletic department for 15 years before becoming the athletic director at Eastern Michigan in 2013. Lyke has been the athletic director at Pittsburgh since 2017. Diana Sabau worked at Ohio State before becoming the Big Ten's deputy commissioner and chief sports officer in 2021, and is now the athletic director at Utah State. Sabau is less likely of a candidate to get hired, as she was just hired at Utah State.
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UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond could also be a candidate as well. He worked with Smith at Ohio State for eight years.
It will be intriguing to see who succeedsSmith at Ohio State
